Pessimism can wait until next week: here's today's reason the Royals may emerge

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Crazy stuff always happens here, always has, each of the three spring trainings I've covered, and I'm told it's been that way pretty much since the Royals moved out here from Florida.

Doesn't matter if the Royals are playing the Padres or the Mariners, the games always end in some bizarre, spectacular* way that you don't expect. And it's not always the Royals losing them, either, though it was on Thursday when Doug Waechter and then Tim Hamulack lost a two-run lead in the ninth with, notably, Mike Sweeney coming through with the game-winning hit. Earlier in the week, the Royals lost to the Padres on a walk-off home run.

Last year, I remember Joakim Soria channelling Joe Borowski and getting lit up.

* We use the word "spectacular loosely here.

Anyway, today's post will be the first of what might be a little mini-series as we approach the games that matter, where we look at certain trends or numbers or performances that might foreshadow doom for the Royals this year, and others that might foreshadow fun for the Royals this year.

I've probably hit on the infield defense enough this week, so lets focus on a trend that might mean the Royals are in for some fun this year.

I like to call this trend: Billy Butler and Alex Gordon*.

* I'm not good with nicknames. Can we call them Big B and G-Diddy?

You can look at stats and see that each guy are hitting well -- Butler is at .360, Gordon .300 and both with power -- but there's something a little deeper.

We'll get into this more in our baseball preview section -- COMING TO A DRIVEWAY AND/OR NEWSSTAND NEAR YOU NEXT SUNDAY! -- but this is an absolutely essential season for both those guys and, by extension, the Royals.

History does not give us many examples of guys breaking out and becoming stars after three full big league seasons, so we probably will have a good idea of what kind of big leaguer Gordon will be by the end of this season.

Similar deal with Butler, too, though he's younger and with a little less experience.

The George Brett comparisons were more than a bit unfair, but Gordon is showing real signs that he's about to emerge. I get the feeling that most Royals fans look at his second season as a mild disappointment when judged in the context of wild expectations, but he improved in virtually every measureable way except for defense.

His home run rate improved, he hit more line drives, his walk rate jumped, and maybe this means nothing or everything, his hitting with two strikes improved vastly.

Maybe that's just a small sample size, but there are scouts and smart baseball men who see that as an indication that he's becoming more comfortable and confident against big league pitching.

He's always kept himself in ridiculously good shape*, but looks like he's perhaps even a bit stronger and he says he's in better condition than last year.

* Seriously. If he never played another baseball game, he could have a career doing photo shoots for Men's Health.

Anyway, Gordon just turned 25 last month, and there's just a feeling around camp that he is in for a big year. Not an MVP-type year, mind you, but something that outperforms these projections.

With Butler, there is more of a seriousness around him now than a year ago. Part of that is growing up (he turns 23 next month) but most of it is how he's taken to what was in some ways a disciplinary demotion to Omaha last summer.

Jose Guillen's "babies" rant sure seemed to have a lot to do with Butler, and the Royals sure seemed to back that up when they sent him down as much for an attitude adjustment as anything to do with his swing.

It's not that Butler is a bad guy. Quite the opposite. He has a great heart, won't say a bad word about anybody.

It's just that the rest of Billy -- the maturity, the growing up emotionally -- needed to catch up with his bat. And the Royals are trying to become the kind of big league franchise that doesn't need to wait.

That process takes hold this season. I've heard two scouts this spring say Butler is the best pure hitter the Royals have, and expect it to play out that way this summer.

By acquiring Coco Crisp and Mike Jacobs and lucking into Mike Aviles, the Royals have lengthened their lineup to where the bottom third is no longer the equivalent of a foot massage for opposing pitchers.

If Butler and Gordon can, this year, start to fulfill the hopes of Royals executives and fans, the team will have a middle of the order beefed up as well.

We know what to expect from Jose Guillen and Jacobs and Crisp and DeJesus. But if Butler and Gordon can start to break out this year, the lineup could creep toward league average in runs scored.

And if the Royals are league average offensively, there's no reason to believe they can't be well above .500 and be a legitimate contender in the American League Central.